Matthew 8:19-22

19 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” 21 Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

When you have to be somewhere at a specific time and that particular specific time is fast approaching things get stressful.  Trying to get kids ready, diaper bags packed, shoes on, cell phones in pocket, hair combed, shoes back on… again.  All this hustle and bustle can be stressful.  In all the hustle and bustle the question was asked “can I bring a toy?”  While looking for all the things that need to be in the car so that the car can eventually leave with us in it, I shout “sure, pick your favorite one.”  At first you would think this question and answer exchange was quite simple and to the point.  However, to a 3 year old, this question had massive implications.  First comes the discussion of what toy is his favorite.  Then the tears that we can only bring one.  Then the reprioritizing of what really is the favorite.  Then the clarification of his favorite inside toy vs. his favorite outside toy.  Reality is that picking a number one is hard sometimes.

When it comes to Jesus the discussion and agonizing that comes over making such choice should be much more simple.  But is it?  I mean it is easy on Sunday mornings to say that Jesus is number one in your life.  Your sitting in church.  You just got done participating in some awesome worship through music.  Your pastor is on his “A” game and the message rocks!  You just find yourself shouting inside, “JESUS, YOU ARE NUMBER ONE!”  That is easy.  That is expected.  How about when you are stressed? How about when you are tired, pressed to the max, persecuted, misunderstood, angry, hurt?  Is Jesus number one when life seems to be getting the best of you?  What about when you hear horrible news?  When you don’t know how your going to get through the mess you are in?  Is He still at the top?

Jesus discovered this first hand when people claimed they wanted to follow Him.  People would approach Him and tell Him that they were willing to follow Him, but were they really understanding what they were saying.  In Matthew 8:19-22 we see two responses Jesus gives to individuals who said they were ready to follow Him.  On a first read, it might seem that Jesus is being totally rude or mean to these two men wanting to become His followers.  But a little investigation makes us realize nothing is further from the truth.  Many of us read verse 22 and think that Jesus was being a little too harsh and expecting a little too much.  I mean come on, who shouldn’t be able to bury a parent after their death?  In fact, many scholars believe that this man was not asking to go to a funeral, instead he was asking to follow Jesus after his father eventually did die.  Kind of like saying to Jesus, “Hey now is not a good time, but maybe in a few years.”  He wanted to set the terms as to what following Jesus would look like in his life.

You see, both these men wanted the same thing:  To be disciples of Jesus.  Jesus just wanted to make sure they understood what that meant:  He had to be number one in their lives.  He had to be more important than possessions, more important than family.  It’s not that those other things are unimportant, they just can’t be placed anywhere near in value to Jesus.  Our life, our finances, our relationships, our conversations, everything we are should be centered around the fact that Jesus is the most important relationship in our lives.  No discussion.  No agonizing what is your favorite.  Just obedience to the only ONE thing that should hold top value in your life

Is Jesus truly number one in your life?  Is He more important than anything you have or own?  More important than any of your relationships?  He doesn’t want to be number two….He wants to be number one.  Is He number one in your life?

Heavenly Father, help my life reflect you most.  Help live the life that proclaims you are number one in my life.  Break me and mold me to live for you alone.

Hey Everybody,

Wanted to check in with you today.  It has been a looooong week since the procedure and surgery, but we are very pleased with the outcome and the prognosis from the doctors.  There are still a few more steps to be taken, but as for this first step we are very pleased with how it went.

Everything with the procedures, as far as we know, went very well.   Wednesday when they removed the cancer from the face and lip was a loooooong day.  I ended up being in the clinic for just under 12 hours and had a total of 6 removal procedures done.   There were some long and difficult moments that day.  It was disheartening to have them keep coming back in the room and tell us they had to go deeper and take more tissue.  It really was the most difficult day I have ever been through.  I was physically, emotionally and spiritually drained.  I knew God had a plan and was going to bring glory to His name through this, but it was a challenge for me to keep my hope in Him in the midst of doctors peeling away at my face layer by layer.  It was just a long journey, but through the procedures I can truly say that all the prayers helped.  Knowing there were so many people praying along with me and my family was very much appreciated.  Every time they came back into the room to start another procedure, I would put my headphones on and start listening to my music and pray.  The prayers definitely worked. Finally, the Doctor came in and was able to say that as far as all the tissue he removed from the lip and face, that there was NO more cancer in it.  He had the margins he was looking for.  The cancer had been cleared away.  (insert loud cheers here).     Wednesday night after the procedure I ended up getting admitted to the hospital until my plastic surgery appointment on Friday.   The clinic was not really prepared for my procedure to take that long and remove that much tissue so they decided to have me go to the ER and get admitted through there.  It was a long process but I finally got into a room about 11 pm that night.

The next two days I just waited for my plastic surgery appointment.  I was on a lot of morphine for pain but Thursday morning finally came and that was when I met my plastic surgeon for the first time after my removal procedure from the day before. My plastic surgeon came in and let me know that I did loose a lot of tissue, but because of what muscles and tissue he could spare I was going to be able to have a completely different procedure.  This was the first time that he said I was going to be able to have a skin graft.  Prior to the procedure last week we thought the procedure was going to impair my ability to speak and eat permanently, but with this new procedure my speech and eating function would not be affected so drastically.  This was a relief.  The surgeon said the procedure would be long and difficult, but the outcome was going to be a lot better than he originally thought.

( insert loud cheer again )

Friday and the plastic surgery came and went.  When I came out of the surgery I was very tired and I had a large bandage sutured to my face and over my mouth in order for the tissue to heal.  I had to be on a liquid diet for a week.  The week was filled with lots of great movies at home ( thanks to all the guys who let me borrow DVDs ), lots of meds, lots of ice packs and lots of sleep.

After seven days I returned to the plastic surgeon and he cut out the sutures and took the bandage off.  He asked me to say a bunch of words and everyone in the room was very pleased with what they saw and heard.

As far as step ONE is concerned we are very excited for how well things went.

We know there are still some things that need to be confirmed and tested.  We have some follow up appointments with a few doctors to discuss some options for making sure there is no more cancer in the body.  The type of surgery that was done ensures that there was no more cancer in the specific area that was removed.  And since the beginning we have known that the pathology report for my particular cancer came back “uncontained” which means there are a few more things we need to do to ensure that all cancer is gone everywhere in the body if on the off-chance some remains.  We will be having those appointments in the next couple of weeks.

God is continuing to show that HE is in charge and is taking care of things. In this whole process we have seen God continue to provide, continue to control, and continue to comfort in all situations.  We are grateful that we are part of His plan and that through this He has shown himself to be so faithful.

As we continue on to the next couple of steps to ensure this thing is completely behind us we know that God is going to continue to be faithful.  He is going to continue to be in control and to orchestrate His will in my life.  Continue to pray.  God gave us victory over step one, now as we continue on lets continue to pray for more victories in His name.

A sincere THANK YOU from me and my family as many of you have expressed your support and prayers through this whole thing.  Knowing that there were so many people praying for me, the doctors, and for healing has brought such a sense of peace.  I am humbled by the response and the outpouring of love and care I have received.  Keep the notes coming,  keep the encouragement coming, keep the prayers coming

Thanks and much love

Doug

Here are some new things that you can be praying for:

For the skin graft to take.

For all the tissue to heal.

Patience in waiting for the tissue to heal.

Grace as we work through the slight adjustments to speech and eating.

Wisdom for the doctors as they consider options for the next steps.

That NO cancer cells had left the lip and mouth area and it is in fact gone.

God is constantly preparing us to better understand Him and His plans for our life. Constantly showing us how good He is.  Constantly walking along side us through life as we live in a way that glorifies Him.    I know this to be true.   For years I have been a leader in ministry and I have stood in front of people and proclaimed both the goodness of God and the sovereignty of His plans.   For years I have been witness to the amazing things God has done.  I see His love for me everyday.  Even on days where we might not fully understand or have all the answers to the questions…God does.

For months I have been going to the doctors trying to figure out what was wrong with my lip.  After several doctors visits and tests they have found out what was wrong with it.  Last week I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of skin cancer.  It is not melanoma, and we praise God for that.  However, the nature of this aggressive cancer is going to require an aggressive treatment , removal and repair process.   The first week of August I am going in to have the cancer removed where I will have a good portion of my bottom lip and surrounding tissue removed.  This will be followed by an extensive plastic surgery that will repair the wound and allow the skin to heal.  The Doctors main goal is to remove cancer.  We are praying (and you can pray along with us) that the cancer has not spread any further than the lip.  We are praying that it actually shrinks before the procedure.  And we pray that the doctors would be able to confidently locate and remove all of the cancer and at the end of the procedure will be able to give us a report that the cancer was all removed.  Once they remove the tissue that has cancer they will test the tissue to see what type of further treatments might be necessary to ensure the body is rid of the cancer.

As a part of the recovery process I will not be able to speak for several weeks. ( I know… ironic).    I will not be able to communicate with you by my normal means.  The best ways for you to hear about the progress of the surgery and recovery process AND to encourage me is through my blog ( www.dougstoryblog.com ).  I will communicate regularly through this and you will be able to know what is happening and how you can be praying for us.

You can also find updates on our Facebook page.  Just search for SUNRISE CHURCH EAST VALLEY.

Our family and me included have been through a rollercoaster of emotions and experiences this last week.  We are still processing a lot of the things that are going on.  As a family we are discussing and planning how to prepare and how to allow for the best recovery.  Please respect our family at this time.  We are not perfect people, just people a perfect God is using right now to proclaim His goodness.  Please do not talk to Nicholas about what is going on.  We know that you want to let him know you are praying for his daddy, but we want to protect him from any undue pain and misunderstanding about what is going on.  We want Nicholas to have a normal 3 year old life.  He enjoys his friends his age and coming to church, and we don’t want him to need to grow up faster than he needs to by being involved in some adult conversations.  Pray for our family and for this situation to bring us closer to each other and closer to God.  We have always appreciated your love and support and will continue to rely on it from this day forward.

As for Sunrise Church East Valley Campus we will still have church services every Sunday morning.  Sunrise Church has been extremely supportive in this situation and we are working on getting several people to fill in for me.  This church was not built around me.  From the beginning we have learned and now know that the church is not a building.  It is the people who meet inside whatever building you meet in.  (School or church).  The church is also not a single person or personality.  It is a collection of people and personalities.  Community groups will still meet. Classes will continue.  Worship will happen.  Just the guy communicating a message will be different for the time being.  ( and in all honesty he will most likely have shorter messages than I did )  We are blessed to be a part of a church that has a lot of human resources, both on staff and volunteer, and those human resources are going have to step up right now.

Next week I will be here at church.  Pastor Jay will preaching for me and we will have a final plan of what is going to happen while I recover until I can ( and I will ) return.

This is not taking God by surprise.  He is not in heaven right now biting his fingernails hoping that Sunrise Church and Doug Story can handle this situation.  He HAS A PLAN.  The worst thing that can happen out of this for our church is that we cease to do what we have been doing all along.

That is Be ONE,      BRING ONE,     and      BUILD ONE.

We ask that you Pray Diligently for this process:

Pray for healing.

Pray that cancer shrinks between now and the procedures.

Pray that the doctors can remove ALL of the cancer.

Pray that the cancer has not spread to other parts of the body.

Pray for healing after the surgeries

Pray for strength for me and my family

God has chosen for our family and church to go through this at this time.  We know God does not give us anything that we cannot handle.  At this time God graciously chosen for all us to endure some changes.  He will provide.  He will succeed.  He will be faithful.  That is what He does.

Must Be Connected

John 15:5  I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

The other day I felt manly. There are certain times, certain moments, when it feels good to be a MAN.  If there is one place that helps achieve those moments, it is Home Depot.  I walk into that store and I just feel tougher.  I start looking down aisles and trying to imagine myself fixing something.  This particular trip to Home Depot was especially sweet because I was buying a new power tool (insert manly grunt here).  I go into the part of the store that has what I am looking for.  I start with the big expensive professional stuff and then work my way back into reality.  I find what will suit my needs, purchase it and go home.  I open the box and begin to put the drill together when I notice this giant tag hanging from the battery pack, it reads:

WARNING

“This tool will not work if the battery is not plugged in.  A charged battery must be connected properly to use this tool.”

Really?  That needs to be stated.  I just bought a cordless battery operated drill.  How stupid are people?  Then it hit me, sometimes people forget where the real power comes from.

Jesus reminds his disciples in John 15 that if they want to be fruitful in ministry they need to be connected to Him…always.  He is reminding them that He is the true vine and they are the branches.  If the branches try to make it on their own without the life giving power of the vine, they die.  It is impossible for branches to produce fruit, let alone live at all, if they are not connected to the vine.  He is getting them ready for their task to come and that was to go out into the world and change it forever with the good news of Jesus Christ.  The fruit they were called to produce is the same fruit we are called to produce today.  The fruit is seeing lives changed through the power and message of Jesus Christ.  Thus we, as branches, must be connected to Him in order to see that life change in our own life and in the lives of others.  Life change only happens when we are connected to Christ in every aspect of our life.  Every thought, every desire, every word, every action, every motive and every breath must be connected to Christ.  Maybe as followers of Christ we should come with this tag attached to us:

WARNING

“If you want your life to matter you must be plugged into Christ.  His power, His Spirit must be connected properly to you in order to be used for worldchange.”

Sometimes tags are obvious, but they always serve as a good reminder.

God, help me stay connected to you.  Continue to draw me closer to you each and every day.  Through your power and your strength help me to have fruit that will last for your Kingdom.  Make me a branch that produces change in the lives of others.

2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

It is funny to see how as we get older we try to have more independence. For example our oldest son is 3 years old and with the birth of his younger brother last week our oldest has become “completely independent.” Here is what he told me he could do on his own. Change his brothers diapers, give him a bath, drive to the store to get more diapers, teach his brother how to hit a baseball, make his own mac and cheese, get the mail, and mow the lawn and the list goes on and on. Every time something needs to be done he assures us he can do it all by himself. Wouldn’t it be nice? Now don’t get me wrong there are lots of things he does on his own. However, our newborn needs us for everything. The more I think of it, our newborn is helpless without us. As a new parent I absolutely love it. I love that he needs me. I love to care for him. I love to clean him up. I love to hold him, clothe him, and provide for him. I love to love him. I cherish these days.

As I look at the Church I see a disheartening trend emerging from the people. As we get older in our relationship with God we think we need Him less. We look at our lives that might not be spiraling out of control and we think to ourselves, “wow, I am doing a great job with my life.” We look around us and we assume that we are the authors of our own success. As we mature we begin to form a list of all the things we can do on our own. We think we can overcome that temptation alone. We assume we have the strength to persevere. We think that we need God less.

I am reminded of this in 2 Peter chapter 1 where it says that everything we need for life comes from the knowledge of God made possible though the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ. Every single thing we need to have life, to pursue Godly living comes from Him. We can do nothing on our own. When we think we can do things on our own strength we slowly begin to replace God with us. We begin to think we are stronger than we really are. We begin to think we are more loving than we really are. We begin to think we are more holy than we really are. There is only one God who orchestrated the redemption of man through His Son Jesus Christ. There is only one God who created the universe and put the stars in their place. There is only one God who can truly provide everything we need to live a life set apart for Him. And He loves every minute of it. God desires to be depended on. He does not want us to go through this life thinking we can do it all on our own. That is why he freely gives everything we need.

So next time you begin to think that you are bigger than you really are. Remember that when it comes to God we are but newborns, who depend on Him for EVERYTHING!

Lord, empty us of ourselves. Remove from us the thought they we can do anything on our own strength. Remind us that everything we need for life has come from you. Help us be filled with more of you and less of us

1 Peter 3:15 – But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect

My 3 year old son loves baseball.  He also loves waking up really early so he can get started on his fun filled day.  The other morning my son makes his way into my room and he wakes me up with a quiet whisper, “DAD, can we go outside and play baseball.”  I look up at the clock and I simply reply, “NO, it is 5 o’clock in the morning.”  “But Dad, I have my glove, I’m ready.”  Minutes later I hear more commotion and a quiet whisper, “Dad, I went downstairs and got the bases.”  Before too long I have a complete set of bases, a bat, a glove, and about 5 baseballs all thrown on me and my bed and my son waiting in the dark for me to get up and play baseball with him.  He doesn’t give up, he doesn’t get mad, he keeps on waiting.  He keeps on asking, just waiting for his moment.  He is prepared and always ready for the moment I wake up and say “let’s play ball.”

The Bible instructs us to be ready for a lot of things that may come our way.  In the book of 1 Peter we are told to be ready to explain when we have hope.  More specifically the hope we find in Jesus Christ.  This hope is not something that people should have to look hard to find.  Actually, this hope should radiate from the life you live.  In fact not only should you be prepared to give an answer for the hope you have, but you should be eager to do so.  Sometimes we ar prepared for a task, but we pray we never have to actually do it.  Hot so here.  Our hope is powerful.  It is a big deal.  Our lives should reflect hope.  A hope we have in Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ should be our anchor, our rock, and our foundation.  Everything we say, do, and think should be pointing people around us to Jesus.  In order for us to really be prepared to make a defense of the hope we have in Christ our hope must shine so others can see it.

Right now at Sunrise Church we are spending some time answering the questions that a lot of people have when it comes to God.  Our desire is to not only explain with a logical answer the questions, but also to help prepare you to speak up so you can explain the hope you have with gentleness and respect.

Remember you never know when you will have the chance to give an answer, but when it comes, you have to be prepared, you have to b eager, you have to be ready.  Even at 5 o’clock in the morning.

LORD shine through me.  Help others be drawn to your Son through us.  Help my life shine with hope.  A hope that is found in You alone.  Help me be ready to share that hope at all times.

This last weekend at our church we had a Power of Prayer Event.  We wanted to get our church praying together as a group over 8 hours, nonstop.  We accomplished this by assigning specific hours at two locations and had our people sign up for one of those hours.  At the end we had almost 50 people sign up to pray together as a church.  We prayed for our community, our church, our people, and the list goes on and on.

It is easy to draw a crowd at churches these days.  Cool music, free food, something to entertain.  I am truly humbled and excited to see how our church came together to pray and to experience the power of prayer.

Here is the prayer requests we put together for our event.  I look forward to see how God does great things in the lives of our people and in the body of our church.

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Remember P.R.A.Y.

Praise

Spend some time praising God for who He is.

Praise Him for what He has done.

Praise Him because He is God

Remember: Praise meets God’s desire for worship and deals

with our problem of insufficiency.

Repent

If there is a need to repent, do so.

God knows the specific details, no need to go into a step by step account of what needs repenting in

front of your group.

Remember: Repentance meets God’s desire for holiness and

deals with our problem of sinfulness.

Ask

Lets bring our requests to God.

Use the following requests and some that you have.

Ask spiritually, selflessly, significantly, specifically, and

repeatedly.

Remember: Asking meets God’s desire for dependence

and deals with our problem of powerlessness.

Yield

Have faith

Know that God hears your prayers and answers them to His plan and purpose.

Remember: Yielding meets God’s desire for faith and

deals with our problem of arrogance.

Prayer Requests

first things first…

• God, His kingdom, His plan, and His Word would be the focus of all we do.

for our community

• That Sunrise Church will have opportunities to shine as beacon of light in the East Valley.

• For the students, families that attend Sundance Elementary.

• For the staff and faculty of Sundance Elementary.

• We as a church would be aware of the people that have been supernaturally and strategically placed in our lives and that we would minister to them.

• That we would find ways to share Real Acts of Kindness with the people in our community and that we could point them to Christ in the process.

• The people we come in contact with in our community would see Christ in or actions.

for our church

• God would use Sunrise Church to impact the lives of the people in our community.

• God continues to bring new families to Himself through the ministries of our church.

• A good response from the people being invited to come to church, for the hearts of the people in the community to be open.

• Unity for the church.

• Our people will become connected to each other in love and grace.

• Community Groups continue to grow and bring our people closer together.

• Men’s and Women’s Studies continue to challenge people and to bring them to a greater understanding of God and His Word.

• Our Children’s ministry
  • That God would bring more workers and helpers.
  • That children would continue to be taught who God is and that He loves them.
  • For safety in the classrooms.

• Our Youth ministry
  • That God would continue to bring more families who have teens.
  • That the teens would grow closer to Go and closer to each other.
  • That God would empower the volunteers and leaders.

for our church leadership

• That God continues to guide the leaders of our church, and that our leaders are obedient to follow.

• Pastor Jay, our church staff, and our Elder Board.

• That God would bring up new leaders in our church.

• Our Church leaders would be empowered to serve.

• That they would be humble.

for our future

• Permanent Facility
  • God would reveal the right place for us to permanently do ministry.
  • Patience.
  • We would build good relationships with other churches in the area.
  • We would be diligent in prayer for the right course of actions regarding a permanent presence in the community.
  • While waiting for a permanent facility we would be diligently serving God and faithfully following Him.

for Easter

• Easter Services

• Outreach Events leading up to Easter (Plant Giveaway – April 16, Chocolate Bars, Invite Cards, Spring Fling – April 23, Easter Egg Hunt – April 24).

• Courage for our current attendees to invite friends and neighbors.

• That many new people would come to church and come to a personal relationship with Christ.

• Extra volunteers to help with ministry opportunities leading up to and at our Easter Services.

for our people

Candias – Wisdom for our girls as they make life choices, that God’s will would be done and His plan followed. For Anna

Lupe – Salvation of our children. Physical healing for daughters Erica and Yolonda.

Crystal – Pray for Michelle and her healing and recovery, God show the proper path.

Lisa – Pray for my dad, that he would have good days without struggle and pain.  For wisdom and endurance for Russ and I.

Ray  -Pray for my other in laws health.

Mary – a Job

Simon – Keena to find the love of Jesus in her heart

Danny – Pray for a better job, praise God that I was given a car and now I can get to and from work.

Kevin – My nephew James is battling addictions

Seven for Heaven Prayer Cards

Lonzo Jr, Nicole, Asron, Winston, Mary, Willie, Lavon, Bertran, Frances, Oscar, Will, Vini, Keena, Simon, Jerrod, Jackie, James, Nydin, Rhonda, Kelly, Desi, Christine, Ariel, Jim, Martha, Marie, Sandy, Cece, Dora, marty, Toni, Ruby, Joyce, Margaret, Debbie, Dorthy, Joy, Jodi, Barb, Tom, Lynn, Mark, Tim, Kelsey, Hannah, Ashley, Rachel, Natalie, Lanette, Dawn, Deanna, Corrie, Richard, Walten, Alissa, Jaime, Michale, Nancy, Rosie, Sedrick, Dennis, Kris, Nathon, Mason, Drew, Gigi, Carissa, Raymond, Luz, Virginia, Xochithl, Evette, Bria, Linda, Deserie, Felicion, Jose, Yonka, Christine, Anthony, Pat, Sergio, Richard, Jerry, Tommy, Rachel, Natalie, laura, Ray, Sara, Anthony, Emilia, Norma, Venian, Jolene, Dennis, Rod, Damian, Dorthy, Richard, Reychel, Elizabeth, Marie, Paul, Connie, Tine, Stevie, Bobbie, Robert, Dores, jana, Marsha, Bob, Don, Daniel, Carlos, Haydee, Oralea, Enriquez, Sandra, Denaloly, Seve, Rie, Kevin, Kristin, Cyndee, Debbie, Kat, Danny, John, Enrique, Liz, Jason, Anthony, Lorissa, Lisa, Eric, Louis, Rosariao, Marcelo, John, Jason, Lisa, Eric, Robert, Joseph, Lauisienna, Lisa, Louise, Carol, Barbara, Randy, James, Patrick, Mike, April, Chris, Teresa, Advian, Joe, Steve, Manuel, Cecilia, Brittany, Colleen, Dianne, Lisa, Paul, Ging, Robert, Ron, Adam

The best way to strengthen our faith and our resolve is to read what God has promised to those who pray. Here is a sampling:

Promises of Answered Prayer to Encourage Us to Pray with Hope

Jeremiah 29:11-13

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart,

2 Chronicles 7:14

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Matthew 7:7-11

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Romans 8:26

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

Isaiah 64:4

From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.

Isaiah 65:24

Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.

Jeremiah 33:3

Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

Lamentations 3:25

The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.

Psalm 145:18-19

The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.

Psalm 10:17

O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear

Psalm 34:15-17

The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. . . 17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

Matthew 18:19-20

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

James 4:8

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

John 16:24

Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

Psalm 37:4-5

Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.

Psalm 38:15

But for you, O LORD, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

Psalm 102:17

He regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer.

John 14:13-14

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

John 15:7

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

John 15:16

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

Matthew 21:22

And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

Psalm 55:16-17

But I call to God, and the LORD will save me. 17 Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.

Psalm 56:9

Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me.

Psalm 50:15

Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.

Psalm 81:10

I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

1 John 5:14-15

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Zechariah 13:9

And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”

Now that Nicholas is 2 ½ years old I find myself saying “no, you can’t do that,” or just simply “stop”  a lot more.

“No, you can’t jump head first off the couch.”

“Stop climbing the refrigerator. “

“Stop sticking your finger there.”

Sure my son is obviously a boy and boys do things that sometimes defy logic and really make you laugh.  But, he also lives uninhibited.  He is on GO mode.

What is it like to live unstoppable, to live in a way where “no” is something you just don’t hear.  Where the idea of stopping is not an option.  When I look at the modern church I think to myself, what would our world look like if we were unstoppable.  If there was no stopping the impact we as Christians could make on the world.

Too many times as Christians we say NO far to often.  Sure, you might be thinking to yourself “I never say NO to the church or to God.”  Your might not utter the words, but we say it far to often with our lives.  The way we live, the way we conduct ourselves as followers of Christ in the workplace etc etc..  We live as if we can’t do anything for the Kingdom of God.  We live lives that are led out of fear instead of faith.  Fear of what others will think, fear of what we will have to give up, fear of letting go of control.  So what do we do, we STOP.  We stop short of that point of full surrender, full obedience.

God wants us to be unstoppable and to have a life that is worthy of the grace and mercy we have been shown. The way I look at it is that we as Christ followers should respond in faithfulness based on what God has done for us, not based on what God can do for us.  It’s simple.  Through Christ we have new life.  We have hope.  We have forgiveness, restoration, the old is gone, and the new is here.  So it is heartbreaking to see Christians respond in a way that is so stoppable.

For the past few weeks we have been talking about what it would look like if we lived as if there was no stopping us.  If we lived in a way that let those around us who see us everyday know that no matter what the cost there would be no stopping us.  Imagine how things could be different.

When we live as if we are unstoppable:

We will see things we never thought we would see.

We will say thing we never thought we would say.

We will do things we never thought we would do.

We will experience things we never thought we would experience.